27. THE PRIORY OF HEMPTON (fn. 1)
This house was at first a hospital, founded in
the reign of Henry I by Roger de St. Martin, (fn. 2)
in conjunction with Richard Ward, (fn. 3) who afterwards became an Austin Canon and the first
prior. The house was situate at the end of a
dam or causey between the towns of Fakenham
and Hempton, and hence was sometimes known
as Damnesende. Soon after its first foundation
it was changed into a small priory, dedicated to
the honour of St. Stephen, for three or four
canons of the order of St. Augustine. The
priory eventually held the rectory of Hempton,
the manors of Hempton, Waterden, and Tofts,
parcels of land in various parishes, two fairs, a
market, a water-mill, and extensive rights of
pasturage for sheep.
In the year 1200 John, archdeacon of Worcester, gave a palfrey to the king in acknowledgement of his grant of a fair to be held on Whitsun Tuesday for the use of the brethren of
St. Stephen's by the causey of Fakenham.
The taxation of 1291 showed that this priory
held lands or tenements or rents m no fewer
than forty of the Norfolk parishes; but they
were mostly small parcels and only produced a
total income of £29 2s. 0½d.
Licence was granted to the prior of St. Stephen's
in 1302, after inquisition ad quod damnum by the
sheriff and payment of a fine, to bring back to
its old bed a watercourse which used to run
through the court of the priory. (fn. 4)
During the long rule of Nicholas de Kettleston (1339-86), Sir John Bardolf, of Mapledurham, was patron of the priory; he held the
great manor of Hempton, in succession to the
family of St. Martin.
The Valor Ecclesiasticus of 1535 gave the
clear annual value at £32 14s. 8d.
In November, 1297, a commission of oyer
and terminer was issued on the complaint of
Guy Ferre, to whom the king had granted for
life the manor of Fakenham, that the prior of
St. Stephen's, Hempton, had depastured his
beasts on the pastures of the said Guy and of
the king's villeins in the hamlet of Pudding
Norton, a member of the manor of Fakenham. (fn. 5)
In the following February, Guy Ferre further
complained that Giles, prior of Hempton, with
a multitude of malefactors, arrested in the high
road at Waterdene the villeins of Fakenham
Manor as they were taking the goods of the said
Guy to the fair of Creake, imprisoned them,
carried away the goods, and depastured not only
the several pastures of the manor, but even the
growing corn. (fn. 6)
These were troublous times for the priory.
There seems to have been much difficulty in
securing their manorial rights. In February,
1299, William de Bedingham, the king's minister for the execution of the sheriff's writs, complained that, being ordered by the late sheriff in
pursuance of a writ to aid the prior of St. Stephen's
to distrain the prior's villeins of Worstead to
perform their due and accustomed services, he
was attacked by a mob of over sixty men and
women, all of whose names are duly set forth. (fn. 7)
The priory of Hempton held of the priory of
Castle Acre a water-mill called ' Bryggemylle,' in
Hempton, by Fakenham, at the yearly rent of
42s. Close to the mill was a high road, over
the millpool causey, leading to Walsingham,
which causey needed yearly repair. Certain
men of Fakenham, scheming to destroy mill and
high road, so as to make the high road go
through Fakenham and not over the causey, got
the prior and convent fined, from year to year,
in the court of the lords of Fakenham, by presenting them for raising the causey beyond
customary bounds, and keeping the water higher
than usual. On the other hand, if Hempton
Priory neglected to repair the causey, they would
be fined no small sum at the sheriff's turn, to
their own great impoverishment, the disinheritance of their churches, and the peril of travellers
to Walsingham and others using the road. A
commission of oyer and terminer was appointed,
1385, to adjudicate on the complaint of the two
priories. (fn. 8) By an indenture made in 1461 between Nicholas, prior of Castle Acre, and Stephen,
prior of the church of St. Stephen de Dammysende of Fakenham, the yearly rent of 42s.
paid by the canons of Hempton to Castle Acre
Priory for the water-mill, termed Bridgemill, was
lowered to 20s.
Accounts of the receipts and expenses of
Hempton Priory from Michaelmas, 1500, to
Michaelmas, 1501, as entered by Canon Richard
Marham, are extant. (fn. 9) The rents of the tenants,
the farms of the mills, and the receipts of grain
and pease, and the sales of skins and underwood,
&c., are all set forth. From the expenses it
appears that considerable repairs were in progress
in the cloister. There were at that time in the
house three canons (including the prior), thirteen
servants, and two boarders.
William Fakenham was the next prior. He
was in office in 1514, when the house was
visited, on 13 July, 1514, by Bishop Nicke.
The prior and Canon Creke bore testimony that
all was well. Brother Henry Beteele, subdeacon,
and brother Henry Milham said that they had
usually nothing to eat before high mass was
finished, except on days when they laboured, but
had no other complaints. The bishop enjoined
the prior that the brethren should have something to eat daily at eight o'clock, save on fast
days, and that silence should be observed in the
cloister throughout one whole day each week. (fn. 10)
John Sambrook occurs as prior in 1529, and
Henry Salter, alias Salt, in 1534. On 22 November, 1534, Prior Henry and three other
canons signed their acknowledgement of the
king's supremacy.
This small priory is included in the list of
lesser monasteries of Norfolk drawn up in 1536
for immediate suppression. (fn. 11) On 11 August,
1536, the priory was visited by Sir Roger Townsend, Sir William Paston, Richard Southwell,
and Thomas Mildemay, as commissioners. They
drew up an inventory of articles that were to be
kept by the prior for the king's use until further
orders.
In the quyer at the hygh alter.
Fyrst ij olde alter clothys not worne; iiij lytle
candyll stykes off latyne; an olde crosse with ye foote
of copper; iij lityle olde cruettes off pewter; an olde
hangynge off Rede and grene sylke hangynge before
yo alter not worne; ij olde corporasse casys nothynge
worthe; ij olde syngle vestmentes worne and lytyll
worthe; vj olde bokes off there servys nothynge
worthe; a lytyll sacrynge belle.
At our Ladys alter.
An olde table of alabaster; ij olde aulter clothys
off lynyn roome; an old vestment; an old payntyd
clothe before ye aulter worne and nothynge worthe.
In a cheste nere to ye prior's chamber.
An olde vestement with decon and subdecon and a
cope of blew or purpur velvyt; an olde cope with a
vestment and a decon and subdecon off olde blew
sarsnet worne and nothynge worthe; an old cope of
olde copper gold and sylk; iij copys or vestmentes
decon and subdecon off blake sylke and worne nothynge worthe; an olde syngle vestment off blake
velvyt; ij olde vestments the on off whyt . . . the
other grene worne and lytell worthe; iiij olde copys
off sylke nothynge worthe; a fayer chalesse por' at
x Oz di'; a lytyll crosse of wode playtyd with sylver
where ys conteynyd certeyn relyques; ij other pecys
of wode playtyd with sylver; x sylver sponys pond
viii Oz di', at iijs. iiijd. ther oz.
Inventories were also taken of the contents
(for the most part ordinary and poor) of the little
chamber next the prior, the guest chamber called
'Walles chamber,' the hall, buttery, kitchen,
bakehouse, brewhouse, storehouse, and bailiff's
chamber. The cattle consisted of 20 swine,
5 kine, 125 sheep, 40 lambs, and 13 horses and
mares for the plough. The standing corn on
68 acres was estimated at £13 12s., and the
barley, pease, and oats on 97 acres at £14 11s. 9d.
The total of the inventory estimate came to
£128 3s. 9d.
On 24 January, 1537, Richard Southwell was
again at Hempton and paid various small sums
as 'rewardes' to twelve different persons attached
to the monastery in sums varying from 10s. to
20d., and including 6s. 8d. to ' the daye wyff.'
Opposite the name of Henry Salter, prior, is nil.
On the following day (25 January) the goods of
the house were sold; they realised £73 13s. 6½d.
With these papers is given the sworn deposition of the prior before the commissioners, to the
effect that—
the howse ys of th order of seynt Augustyne and
ys a hede howse havynge a convent scale. Item ther
ben of religious persones within the same howsse ij
requyryng capacities. Item there of servants xv,
hindes x, and waityng servants v.
The lead on the steeple, transepts, quire,
south chapel, gate-house, and cloister was estimated at twenty-one fodders, worth £63. The
four bells in the tower weighed 24 cwt., and
were valued at £25 4s. The debts of the prior
were £8 17s., whilst there was £6 16s. owing
to him. The priory debts included 10s. for
beef owing to the butcher, and 12d. due to the
' Butter Wyffe' for butter. (fn. 12)
The priory obtained a pension of £4 13s. 4d.
on 10 December, 1537. (fn. 13)
On 22 March, 1537, Francis Bedingfield, of
London, obtained a lease of the priory site and
demesne lands. (fn. 14)
The site of the priory, with the manor and
appropriated rectory, were granted in 1546 to
Sir William Fermer and Catharine his wife.
Priors Of Hempton
Simon, (fn. 15) before 1165
Richard, (fn. 16) occurs 1269
Giles, (fn. 17) occurs 1297
Richard de Westacre, (fn. 18) elected 1301, occurs
1305 (fn. 19)
Alexander de Lenn, (fn. 20) elected 1324
Nicholas de Kettleston, (fn. 21) elected 1339
John de Snoring, (fn. 22) elected 1386
John Pensthorp, (fn. 23) elected 1393
Richard, (fn. 24) occurs 1438, 1450
Stephen Wighton, (fn. 25) elected 1451
John de Lexham, alias Penton, (fn. 26) elected 1481
William Fakenham, (fn. 27) occurs 1514
John Sambrook, (fn. 28) occurs 1529
Henry Salter, alias Salt, (fn. 29) occurs 1534, last
prior
The thirteenth-century seal of this house is
oval (2 × 1½ in.) and shows St. Stephen standing
between two great candles under a gothic canopy;
below was apparently a half-length figure (? of
the prior), but in the only known specimen (fn. 30) this
part is broken. Legend:—
SIGILLŪ COMMV . . . DE HEMPTONN